A Thorned Rose
by Mercs2Girl
Summary: **FIRST IN THE SERIES, RE-WRITE of LilMickey2008's original** Jennifer Mui is assigned a new, younger partner that she knows she will already hate. What will happen when this partnership turns into something more?
1. One Hell Of A First Impression

**A THORNED ROSE**

A/N: This was ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY _LILMICKEY2008!_ I asked if I could re-write it, and he willingly agreed. So, here it is. The first in the series!

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CHAPTER 1:

James Holt was a brand new member with Executive Operations. He was fresh out of the United States Marines at twenty-five years of age, and he was looking for new employment. He wanted to do something more with his career, something that was more…satisfactory. Of course, he got paid for his previous work, but now he wanted to take it further, to build up a name for himself. Of course, his experience and actions in the army had made him a perfect candidate for being a mercenary with ExOps. Of course, they told him that he had been set up with a partner to show him the ropes of how it was done. He really had no absolute idea as to what he was in for. _Oh, to be naive.

* * *

_

James heard his field operative cackle to life in his earpiece. He listened as Fiona Taylor's strong Australian accent came through the line.

"James Holt, are you there?"

"Yes, Ms. Taylor?"

"You should be coming up on the Allied Nations Headquarters. And call me Fiona, please." She told him.

"I hope this partner of mine is as good as you say she is."

"She most definitely is." She replied contentedly. _She was good all right_, Fiona thought, _the very best of the best._ "She captured Choi Song, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember hearing that." James replied, nodding along to what Fiona was telling him.

"Look, I will be helping both of you out, so keep your cool and everything will be fine. And give her a chance. She may not seem like it but she is really great."

"Yes mom." James joked with a smile. He arrived at the A.N. headquarters soon after his little chat with Fiona ended. He got out of the light green military-grade Humvee and walked towards the grey bricked square building.. He pulled open the door and stepped inside. It was a nice place for what it was. He sat down at the table in the conference room. There was a man standing in front of a screen with his back turned towards James.

"Well, Sergeant Holt, glad to see you made it here in one piece." The commander said, turning around to greet this new mercenary. "I'm Major Garrett." He was an older man, greying curly hair standing out against his dark skin. He held out his hand.

"Sir." James said, taking the man's hand and shaking it. "I suppose my partner isn't here yet." James looked around keenly. It was only him, the Major, and one guard at the door.

"Oh she's here all right. Bring her in." The guard at the front walked over to the other side of the conference room and opened the back door. A woman came into the room. She had short, straight black hair with dark brown mysterious eyes. Her curvy hips moved back and forth as she walked over to the table. She was all woman. She had the curves, the breasts, and the face. James was surprised that she was a mercenary of all things. The whole time, he could not peel his eyes off of her. She was beautiful and she knew it.

"James Holt, this is Ms. Jennifer Mui. Ms. Mui this is James Holt." Major Garrett said, introducing the pair.

"Hi." James said kindly, making eye contact with her, grinning politely. He hoped that she would return his greeting. She didn't. She stared at him, scrutinizing him for a second before she turned and looked at Major Garrett.

"_This_ is my partner?" She said in a less-than-impressed voice, pointing down at him.

"Hey, what's wrong with me?" James retorted getting angrier the longer she held the arrogant look on her face.

"You gave me a boy to work with?" She asked, rather dumbfounded. "After all I did? All the work I had done for you? And all you can do in return is give me a _boy _to work with? Really?" James had had enough. He got out of his seat, and stepped right up in Jennifer's personal space.

"Maybe you just have a problem with men, Ms. Mui." James shot back irately. "Men who are more skilled at this kind of work than you are."

"Watch who you're talking to, _boy_." Jen hissed, staring him down eye to eye. His blue ones were locked on with her brown ones, not wanting to give up the quarrel.

"If you don't like me, maybe you should just…"

"Hey!" Major Garrett took a step forward ready to intervene if necessary. Jen glared back at James. She reached forward, grabbing him by the collar of his army fatigues, shoving him up against the wooden wall with a loud smack.

"Until you've been in the Paratroopers, the SA-Freaking'-S _and_ MI6, THEN you can suggest that you have more skills than I do! Until then, shut the bloody hell up, you baby-faced bastard!"

"Break it up you two! That's an order!" Major Garrett interrupted them. Jen dropped James off the wall. He felt the sides of his neck where her sharp nails had dug into his skin. Major Garrett didn't want these new partners to fight among themselves before the real battle even began. Jen gave James another glare before turning to Major Garrett.

"So…what's the mission?" She asked, completely ignoring the man she had almost strangled a moment ago. Garrett simply let it go, figuring that Mui wouldn't help out again if he chastised her about it.

"Well…the North Koreans don't like our existence here."

"No kidding." Jennifer replied sarcastically, folding her arms.

"It seems Song still has a very strong presence here and the North Korean troops won't stop attacking us."

"Right…so…what am I here for again? Oh I remember; doing the work that you lazy ass Americans can't be bothered to do."

"Mui…" Major Garrett warned her to stop.

"Oh don't "Mui" me. You know it's true; otherwise, I'd be drinking tea in England right about now. You people hire mercenaries to do jobs that a) you are too lazy to do yourselves and b) that you can't handle. I expect this time around, it has to big, in order for you to have called ExOps who called me and assigned me some deadweight."

"I am not deadweight!" James called out from across the room. He had seen just how shrewd this woman was. It astonished him. Jen ignored him completely.

"Ms. Mui…we have situation on our hands, yes. The damn North Koreans are still loyal to Song, and although we thought we got rid of all his artillery and everything, we obviously haven't."

"A failure on your part." Jen pointed out. The Major sighed at his army's ineffectiveness

"Yes…it was. But that's what we got you to help us for."

"To destroy artillery? Really? Why don't you use the deadweight for that?" James heard her say it again. He walked back over to the two of them.

"If you call me 'deadweight' one more time, I swear I will…"

"Oh shut up!" Jennifer replied, giving him a shove out of the way. James stepped back a few feet. He was using all his might to keep from throwing a punch to her face.

"Would you two stop it? The real fight is out there! Now…as I was saying, I know Song still probably has his 'friends' out there. I want you to kill them." Garrett explained. Jen thought that that idea was much better, and it exercised her sniping skills.

"All right. So I guess that's what you're paying me the twenty million for?"

"Er….yes…" Garrett looked back at James. James was in shock about how much Mui was worth for something that he could do fairly easily. Jen saw Garrett staring behind her and she too turned round.

"There's a reason I'm known as the World's Most Expensive Mercenary." Jennifer told James, walking right up to his face. "Now…I'm leaving. If you want to learn the ropes, then get off your lazy American ass and come with me." Mui muttered, pulling a Barrett sniper rifle out of a gun cabinet as well as a M9 pistol. She pulled out a silencer out of her jacket pocket and screwed it on to the pistol. She holstered both guns; the pistol on her leg, the sniper rifle over her back. James stood there, almost in a shell shock of anger. Not only was she already calling him a 'deadweight', she was also insulting his home country. He wanted to harm her. But he knew he couldn't, and for the fact that she would probably end up killing him when he least expected it.

"Go on son. You better get going before you're walking on your own. And yes, she's always like this. Get used to it soldier." Major Garrett reassured James as he handed him an M4A1 with an M203 rifle and a Remington 1100 semi-automatic shotgun. James grabbed his guns, jogging out of the building. He saw Mui just opening the door of an A.N. Humvee. He sprinted and jumped into the passenger seat just as the engine roared to life.


	2. A Taste Of Real Warfare

CHAPTER 2:

Jennifer kept all eyes on the road, ignoring her passenger. James decided to finally speak up to her.

"Look if we are gonna have to work together, you are _going_ to give me some respect."

"Why should I be bothered to give you any respect? You're just a little kid in a big playground with no one to protect him. You're an inexperienced idiot." She muttered harshly, still avoiding his inquisitive stare.

"All right…you may be older than me, and you may have more experience doing this kind of work, but I am here to help you out and you are here to show me how it's done. Why are you acting like such a bitch?"

"Acting? Ha." Jen paused to laugh. "It's also well known that I am a bitch. It's as simple as that. You don't work in this male-dominated business and let yourself get pushed around." She replied, turning onto the main highway heading north to Pyongyang. "There's a certain level where you have to let the idiots know who's really in charge." James scowled, looking at the road as they drove. _Great, _he thought, _I'm stuck with her and her attitude problem. So much for being 'great'. _James thought back to what Fiona had told him. He didn't think Fiona would have lied to him but, he was thinking about the possibility that she did. James folded his arms and continued watching the scenery go by. That's when it caught his eye; there was a recoilless rifle aimed right at them from a far away hill.

* * *

"Mui!" James yelled in a panic.

"What?" Jen turned and looked at him. James reached forward, pushing her back into her seat and steered the Humvee way off the road, hiding behind another hill. Jen was about to object when an explosion rocked them, sending the truck flying in the air. They tumbled about as they went into a flip. The truck eventually landed on its roof with a crunch. Jen and James had meanwhile gotten tangled up in the accident and when they finally stopped, they were practically in each other's arms. Jen glared at him while breathing heavily. She had had no idea what had just hit them, but she was glad that it didn't hit them square on. She however didn't want to tell James that. She pulled herself up off of him, escaping with only bruises, and crawled out the window of the rear driver's side where it hadn't been crunched down. James followed suit. When they got out, Jen immediately loaded her Barrett and laid down in the dirt. James tried rolling the Humvee back onto its four wheels so they had a ride out of here. It was obviously hostile territory and he didn't want to be hit by another recoilless rifle round again. Unfortunately, it wouldn't budge. The weight was too much for one person to flip over. He turned and went to ask Jen for her help.

"Mui…I need help to flip this thing."

"Go away. I am getting this bastard before we leave." She grumbled, still lining her scope up with the man behind the recoilless rifle three hundred yards away.

"Oh come one, leave him be! There'll be more where he came from!"

"Shut it. Now." Jen growled in reply. She had just lined up her cross hairs with the North Korean's head. She steadied her breathing, slowing her heart rate. Then she held her breath and pulled the trigger. She saw the lonely soldier drop down to the ground, blood gushing from his neck. She stood up, putting her rifle over her back. James had watched the whole shot in silence. She _was _a good sniper; that was true.

"Nice shot."

"Shut it kiss ass." Jen mumbled walking back to the wrecked Humvee. She gave one look at it and realised that it was far too heavy for either one of them to try to flip it upright. James started pushing anyways.

"It's futile to try and flip that three ton beast. We're walking. Let's go." Jen muttered as she started walking down the road.

"Wait…what about any more recoilless rifles? We'll be dead before we get back!" James hollered. But it was no use; she had already started jogging away. James ran to catch up, pulling his rifle into his hands, loading it with a fresh magazine. He followed Jen up this dirt side road. He was having a hard time catching up as she was pretty fast. Then, she suddenly stopped and ducked behind some rocks. James dropped to all fours also. He looked up and saw a few North Korean troops around a large piece of artillery. He instantly recognised the markings on it as one of Song's weapons. He crawled forward next to Jen.

"That's one of Song's weapons." He whispered. She looked through her scope. For once, he was right. "Should we go loud?"

"No…not yet." Jen leaned over the rock. James noticed she had slipped on a silencer on her Barrett. She quickly dispatched two of the men. The other two had their backs turned, obviously guarding that side of their camp. "Now we can go loud." Jen whispered, pulling out her pistol. James nodded and he opened fire on the remaining men. The one took two bullets to the chest and Jen capped the other from twenty yards with a headshot. James started looking around the camp site.

"There's got to be tons of these places around here."

"Yeah…" Jen started digging around in her knapsack. She pulled out a block of C4. She stuck it down on the artillery and started running away. James followed. They were about sixty feet away and Jennifer hit the button. A huge explosion racked the countryside, echoing in the hills and valleys. Flames licked up and debris went everywhere along the green grass. Jen started walking back towards the A.N. HQ which was roughly ten miles away. She knew that what they were dealing with was nothing more than what she had done four years ago. Only this time, she was stuck with a partner. She figured that maybe if the fighting picked up, the poor bastard might take a bullet one too many and die. Then she would be free and on her own again.


	3. Shared Accommodations

CHAPTER 3:

"Jen? James? What the hell was that?" Fiona's voice came through both their earpieces.

"Some C4 on an artillery gun that belongs to Song. It was set up on a dirt road just like it was four years ago." Jen responded. They were now within two miles of the headquarters. James walked along in dead silence. He figured the less he said, the less he'd get yelled at.

"Oh I see. Well….wait, are you guys walking?"

"Yeah, we got hit by a recoilless rifle and it flipped our ride." James said.

"Are you okay?" Fiona asked worriedly.

"We're fine. Just some bruises."

"Oh all right then. Major Garrett called to tell me he has a place for you two to bunk in. Over and out."

* * *

Jennifer and James at last arrived back at the headquarters. They came into the conference room, tired and haggard. Major Garrett was pacing along the floor and when they came in, he felt relieved that they were alive.

"So…what did you find?"

"Well…" Jen explained to him about the recoilless rifle and their accident and the artillery gun out on a dirt road.

"I saw it first hand. There is no doubt that it was Song's artillery set up in the back roads" James told the Major, backing up Jen's story. Garrett looked back at the pair of them. They had appeared to have not killed each other. They looked tired, but after having to walk ten miles after getting tossed around in a flipped vehicle, he couldn't blame them. However, Garrett was still in slight doubt.

"We had an assumption that Song had been hiding weapons once Ms. Mui caught him four years ago. Although, we have no idea how the North Korean soldiers would have gotten access to them."

"I don't know either." Jennifer inputted. She stood up from the table, letting out a yawn. "Perhaps he's got close men that we didn't find the last time running the show?"

"Maybe. That'll be up to you to find them then. We really just need help getting stuff done and getting it done properly. Any who…" Garrett also stood up, setting down his coffee mug on the table. Garrett still wasn't sure how the North Koreans had Song's weapons but he had a good feeling the Mui was right. "You guys will be bunking here for your duration in this theatre. We happened to have a few extra rooms, in case, you know, we had to hire extra 'help'. Corporal Harris!" A young looking man stepped away from the door. "Show these two to their room."

* * *

As they were following Cpl. Harris to their room, James couldn't help but watch Jennifer walk in front of him. Now, he had done that for the last few hours, but this time he could focus just on her and not about the possibility of being shot. He watched her take long strides, swinging her hips from side to side. He watched her short hair swing back and forth matching every step she took. He was almost completely mesmerised. Jen followed the Corporal closely. He led them to a far back room. James at last broke out of his trance and thought that he was rather fortunate that she didn't once look back at him. Soon enough, they stopped in front of a large oak door. Jen pushed it open and looked inside. Their bags had already been delivered for them from the pane they had arrived on. James' luggage consisted of a rather large army-grade duffle bag. Jen's was made up of only one leather suitcase. Jen walked around the room. It was painted a subtle shade of olive green. Jen looked around the place; she saw a closet, a couple of dressers, a table, a lamp, and of all things, only one bed. Cpl. Harris waited around for a bit, and when no one said anything, he turned around and left the two of them alone. James grew rather uncomfortable with Jen in such a place like a bedroom.

"I guess we should get some sleep then." James said, letting a yawn escape his lips. He figured that if he made a move for the bed, then she'd get the idea and get into bed beside him and they would forget the awkwardness that would be sure to follow. He hoped she was too tired to care if they shared or not. As he took on step towards the bed, Jennifer reached out and grabbed his arm, yanking him to an abrupt stop. "What?" James asked, rather annoyed by the action.

"I am getting the bed. You are getting the floor." She ordered coldly.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I'm not sharing a bed with you. I barely know you and besides, you're so baby-faced, it would be almost pedophilic." She pointed out. James sighed. He was not in a mood to argue an argument he wouldn't end up winning anyway. He grabbed one pillow and one sheet off the bed then laid down on the cold floor for a restless night of sleep. Jen scoffed at him as she got into the soft, hotel-quality bed. She was still awfully pissed off at being partnered up with a useless rookie. She rolled onto her side, facing the wall. She reached over and turned off the lamp on her bedside table. In the dark, she finally felt comfortable to strip down out of her clothes without James ogling her and drooling like most of the men she had been around. She had dealt with men hitting on her endlessly and she was fed up with it. She didn't need a man; she was perfectly happy being on her own, living the high life, and getting paid millions of dollars to do a job she loved.

* * *

James stared up at the dark ceiling. He was really tired, but not tired enough to fall asleep right away, especially on the hard floor. He sighed quietly. He had never met a woman like Mui in all of his life. She was fierce, smart, and beautiful. A triple threat if James had ever seen one. He eventually put Mui out of his mind and soon enough, he was dozing off. He was thinking about the day he was promoted to Sergeant, and although it was a very proud moment of his life, getting there was not a pleasant memory.


	4. NotSoSweet Dreams

CHAPTER 4:

"_Cpl. Holt! Cpl. Holt!" Lieutenant Matt Baker screamed at the man beside him. "We need to take this village so our tanks can go through and help out the fourth battalion in the next town over. So get your head out of your ass, and follow me! Hughes, Williams, and Harris, go with Captain Martin. We'll all meet up around the other side!"_

"_Yes, sir." Everyone said in unison. They all went off_ _in different directions. Cpl. Holt ran after Lt. Baker. As soon as they were a block away, they ran right into an enemy unit. They took cover as the first shot was fired along with a wind full of desert sand._

"_Damn, I had no idea that we were going to face resistance this early!" Baker shouted over the fierce gun fire and wind. "Well, Holt, do something already!"_

"_Like what?" Cpl. Holt asked._

"_Paint a picture. Shoot back dammit!" Cpl. Holt pulled out his sniper rifle, and aimed at the first Taliban he saw. BANG. He dropped like a sack of potatoes._

"_I got him, I got him!" Cpl. Holt exclaimed._

"_Great kid, don't get ballsy on me!" Lt. Baker said. "It's clear, move up." As they went around the main building, they saw the rest of their unit was pinned down by heavy machine gun fire._

"_Nice to see you finally join the fucking party!" Cpt. Martin yelled over the machine gun. Holt looked around the wall he was hiding behind. It was a machine gun nest, surrounded by about three other Taliban._

"_Okay, here's the situation; we need to get rid of that machine gun. We will lay down suppressing fire. Holt, get to cover and take out that gunner._" _Lt. Baker ordered._

_Cpl. Holt nodded, and began his run around the gun, dodging bullets and other obstacles. As soon as he got to a safe location in an old apartment building, he aimed at the gunner, and easily dispatched of him._

"_Down you go." James whispered._

"_Holt!" Pvt. Harris barked. "Get over here now! Lt. Baker is down!" James broke out in a mad sprint back to where Baker and the rest of his squad was, ducking stray bullets from remaining Taliban. He saw Baker, blood spiting from his chest wound. As he approached Lt. Baker...

* * *

_

James sprung up, panting, clutching his own chest. He looked around in the pitch black darkness.

"James!" Jennifer yelled in his ear. He jumped up to his feet to see her standing behind him.

"Ahh! What's happening?" James shouted, still looking around the room in a shaky panic. Jen slowly walked over so that they stood next to each other.

"Are you all right? You were talking in your sleep, rather loudly." She said with concerned look on her face. She knew he had been a Marine, and she knew he had been to Iraq; maybe he was dreaming about something that happened then, war memories that would never leave him. Jen knew guys like that who were permanently mentally scarred.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." He lied, rubbing his stubbly face. Jen gave him a small doubtful smile, shaking her head, gently patting his shoulder. He finally happened to notice she was wearing nothing but a bra and underwear and he couldn't help but stare at the amount of her bare skin that was showing. Jen stayed silent for another moment before returning to her bed. James wasn't quite sure if he had dreamt that she was actually being nice to him, but with that thought and nice picture in his mind, he laid back down and quickly fell back asleep.


	5. A Morning Of Awkward Moments And Pain

CHAPTER 5:

Jennifer opened her eyes, looking around the room. Light had just begun to filter in through the window. She rolled over and grabbed her watch. The LED screen told her that it was 7:04 AM. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. She had had a decent sleep, but she knew the day ahead was going to be very long and tiring and she wished she had slept in a little more. She sleepily looked down at the floor to see that James was still snoring away peacefully. She decided it was better off not to wake him just yet, especially after his nightmare that he had in the middle of the night. She got out of bed quietly, tiptoeing across the room. She grabbed some clothes out of her suitcase and went into the bathroom. As she slowly closed the door, she received a call from Fiona.

"Fiona? What are you calling me so early for?"

"Listen, I have some news about James that you should really know about." Fiona said eagerly.

"What is it?" There was silence on the other end. "Well, what is it?" Jen asked impatiently, pulling her clothes on. She wanted to hear to hear more about her partner.

"Okay, here goes." Fiona began. "James' military history begins with his grandfather who served in World War II. He received a lot of honours for fighting in the conflict. He was also very well known for stopping a man called Von Schrader from using a Dirty Bomb on London during the 1940's."

"Who's his grandfather?"

"William Holt."

"Lieutenant William Holt, right?" Jen replied. She had heard stories about him back from when she served in the SAS. The men often talked about war heroes and William Holt had been one of them. She came to realize that like grandfather like grandson, both had the same attitude and inclination for fighting.

"That's right." Fiona told her. "Well, you might want to finish getting ready, because Major Garrett says he wants you two lovebirds to meet him in the conference room."

"Alright, Fio- wait, did you say lovebirds?" Jen could not believe her ears.

"Got to go!" Fiona quickly hung up, barely escaping the swearing that followed her.

"Shut the bloody…" Mui sighed as she realised Fiona had already hung up. She closed her phone, sighing in defeat.

* * *

James woke up rather suddenly. It was morning now. His back ached from sleeping on the floor all night. He stood up, stretching it out. He noticed that Jen was already out of bed, but he also saw that the bathroom door had been pulled shut. He figured that's where she was. He walked over to the dresser he had unpacked his things into. He dug through his unorganised drawers, trying to find a clean shirt to go under his army fatigues. When he found one, he threw off the he had and started getting dressed.

Fuming, Jennifer threw on her brown leather jacket and walked out of the bathroom. She stopped short when she saw the sight before her. James was reaching for something in his bag without a shirt on. For some strange reason, Jen could not tear her eyes away from the back side of the half-naked man in front her.

"Do you mind?" James said suddenly, turning around giving her a full frontal view. Jennifer stared for a moment longer, her mouth hanging half-open.

"Uhhh…" Finally, she snapped out of her daydream, turning her head, covering the left side of her face with her hand, blocking James out of her view. She was blushing badly because she knew that she had been caught staring at him. James chuckled, putting on his shirt, because he knew exactly what she had been doing.

* * *

_ Damn boy, _Jen thought. _He may be an idiot, but he's a good looking idiot. _Jen cleared her throat, feeling the awkwardness of the situation fill the room like a fog. James grabbed his things and walked to the main door.

"You ready to go or are you still stunned by my six-pack?" James grinned. Jen scowled, zipping up her jacket.

"Let's go. Garrett wants us in the conference room."

* * *

"It's nice to see you two finally getting along." Major Garrett said as they entered the conference room. They took their seats at the table. Garrett smiled at them from the head of it "We are having a huge problem with insurgents trying to get into Allied controlled area. So, go say hello to those bastards the United States way." Major Garrett ordered.

"You mean shoot them on sight." Jen pointed out straightforwardly. She really hated how cocky most American soldiers were. It irritated her beyond belief.

"Obviously, Mui." James replied with a goofy grin.

"Let's go, smart arse." She retorted, grabbing him by the ear, giving him a tug.

"Ow!" James whined.

"Oh shut up!"

* * *

Jennifer and James were driving through the Korean countryside, and eventually, they soon came upon a small group of insurgents, standing around a couple of Jeeps and tents. It was obviously a camp where they had been hiding. Jen parked a little ways off behind some trees, and sneaked up on the crew. They ducked behind some rocks.

"Help me load this thing." James said as he pulled out a rocket launcher. Jen looked on as James readied the launcher over his broad shoulder. She kneeled in front of him and loaded the RPG quietly.

"Okay, it loaded." She whispered, going prone beside him. James stood, then aimed, and fired. He missed by a huge long shot. "Shit!" James cursed. "Load another! Load another!"

"Hang on you cock-eyed bastard!" Jen roared back at him as she reached down into the bag with the rockets. She tried to load another rocket, but with bullets now being fired at both their heads, it was becoming quite difficult.

"No 'hanging on'! If you get me shot Mui, I swear I will come back to fucking kill you!" James shouted furiously back at her. She growled to herself as she loaded another rocket. She took another step out of the way just as a bullet grazed her stomach. Jennifer fell over backwards in pain, letting out a groan as she hit the dirt. The bullet burned her skin, the pain travelling from her side up into her head. James took another shot with the RPG, and this time he took out the insurgents, blasting them all to oblivion.

"Mui!" James called out. "Are you all right?" He jogged over to her.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said angrily, holding her hand over the wound. "It was just a ricochet bullet. Let's get out of here before more of those bastards show up." She told him in a strained voice. She slowly got up on her own before James could even attempt help her up. She started walking painfully towards the Humvee. James again tried helping her, but she swatted his arm away as she got into the vehicle. He began to drive back to where Fiona was stationed. There, Jen would be able to be patched up.

* * *

James tried his best to keep all eyes on the road but he couldn't help but look back to Jen, making sure she didn't pass out from blood loss. Jen had meanwhile taken off her jacket, and was lifting up her shirt to see how bad the wound really was. It had just grazed her on her right side, above her hip. She was still bleeding, but some of it had started to clot. It still hurt like hell and she bit down on her lip in pain. James caught another glance. Seeing her bare stomach, he nearly drove into a tree.

"Watch the bloody road, you dumb arse!" Jen retorted. James felt bad and made sure he didn't take another look at her. He knew however, that if she was spitting insults at him, she was perfectly fine.


	6. Razor Blade Romance

CHAPTER 6:

James pulled up in the front driveway of the place where Fiona had camped out with all her computers. It was an old, abandoned house, thirty miles out of Pyongyang. Fiona had decided that she would be better off working there alone where no one would find her than at the A.N. HQ. The house hadn't been lived in since the first conflict. It was out in the countryside where old farm buildings still remained. James had also hoped to get Intel while he was here on who really was their main enemy. He mainly wanted to get his wounded partner patched up in the process.

"Come on." James said, pulling open the door as he helped Jen out of the Humvee. She was still holding the spot where the bullet had gone in. She was in such pain that she actually really needed the help to walk. She put her arm over James' shoulders and put some of her weight on him. It seemed to help the pain a little. He continued helping her to the front door, kicking it open. They ambled inside.

* * *

"Who the hell-?" Fiona shouted from around the corner after hearing foot steps in the house. She wasn't expecting anyone and she couldn't be too careful if any North Koreans decided to come inside. She pulled out her M9 pistol that she kept on her at all times. She aimed it around the wall and peered around it. Then she realised it was Jen and James, and she holstered the gun. She looked at James, making sure he was all right, and then she looked at Jen's pained face.

"What happened to you?" Fiona asked, walking over, staring down at Jen's blood covered hands.

"A bullet grazed me while we had brief skirmish with some enemy forces." She answered in a tense voice.

"Oh, go head into the living room, I'll be back to help you shortly." Fiona instructed. Jennifer began her walk to the back of the house, and when James tried to help her, she snatched her arm back. She muttered, "I can help myself."

"What the hell is her damn problem?" James asked as she disappeared from sight, exiting the front hallway through an old creaky door.

"She is pissed that she has a partner, and such a young one as you. She's used to working alone. And she's used to being alone outside of work too." Fiona told James. She figured that he should know some personal details about Jen. Maybe then, he'd understand the way she acted.

"Oh…I see…alone?" James asked curiously. He didn't take Mui to be a woman who would be single very often.

"Not really…She has been working with me for a while, but I'm not out there in the field with her. I recommended her for the Song Initiative the first time around. I've only been with ExOps for about four years off and on. She's been with then for eleven years off and on." Fiona explained. She walked back into the kitchen where she had stuff set up. She sat down at her computer. "When you work in this kind of business, you don't get much of a social life outside of it." She logged off her computer and then got up. She reached into the cupboard and pulled out several medical supplies including bandages, alcohol wipes, and an array of stainless steel medical tools. "I'll be back. There's fresh coffee brewing if you want some." Fiona pointed towards the counter. She walked past James, heading to the living room to patch up Jennifer.

* * *

Fiona had had learned basic medical procedures, especially after working freelance with Jen. She figured learning it would be beneficial, and sure enough, after Jen got shot in the ass in Venezuela, it proved its worth. Fiona walked into the living room, closing the door behind her. Jen was lying on the couch. Fiona set down her stuff on the table and flipped on the lamp.

"So…a graze wound eh?"

"Yeah…owwww…" Jen moaned as she lifted up her shirt so Fiona could see it. She looked down at it; it looked bad for all the blood settling around it. Fiona took one of her alcohol wipes and gently cleaned it away so she could see what she was in for. Jen just closed her eyes, gripping onto the couch cushions with all her might. Fiona saw that the bullet had indeed ricocheted off of something before lodging in Jen's side.

"It's more than just a graze. It's in there."

"Oh…please for the love of God, just get it out."

"I'm getting there. This is going to hurt. And I'm sorry; I've got nothing to dull the pain other than an ibuprofen."

"I'll take it." Fiona handed her a pill. Jen dry swallowed it, the horrid taste lingering on her tongue.

"Okay, here goes." Fiona started investigating the gun shot wound. She took out a tool to look around inside. After a few moments of prodding around, she found the end of the bullet. "There you are you little bugger." She reached down and grabbed her tweezers. This was the part that hurt the most. Jen knew it too. Fiona started slowly removing the bullet fragment out of Jen's body.

"Bloody Hell!" She screamed. "Just pull it out faster would you?"

"I can't do that!"

"Give it here." Jen growled. She grabbed the tweezers out of Fiona's hand and pulled them as hard and fast as she could. The bullet fragment popped out of her side like a cork. Then, the pain really started.

* * *

James had just taken his first sip of his coffee when he heard Jen bellow in pain. He cringed. He had taken a bullet once and knew it was not a pleasant experience getting it removed, more so with no proper pain killers. He then proceeded to hear Jen swear endlessly.

"All right, I'll leave! Stitch yourself up then!" Fiona backed out of the door into the kitchen. Jen was screaming bloody murder at Fiona. Fiona slammed the door just as something crashed into it. "Jeez…the things I do for this woman!" Fiona panted. She turned round. James had a wide-eyed look on his face. Fiona shook her head as she poured more coffee for herself.

"What happened?"

"Well…I was pulling it out, when she took it into her own hands and yanked it out. Then when I was trying to stitch her up, she couldn't handle the pain and started losing it. She can do the rest on her own." Fiona sighed, turning her computer back on.

"Anyway, have you found anymore intelligence on how these North Koreans still have Song's guns?" James asked from across the table.

"Well…there's this other guy, a partner to Song, who has been here since the North Koreans started fighting back again."

"Coincidence, I think not." James added. Fiona nodded, putting back a stray piece of her red hair behind her ear. She pulled up more information on this new villain. "His name is Johann Von Schrader. His grandfather was a German commander during World War II."

"I know about the Von Schraders. Our grandfathers got into it back then when Von Schrader wanted to use a Dirty Bomb on London."

"I knew who your grandfather was, but what happened exactly?" Fiona asked inquisitively.

"Von Schrader took machine gun fire to the face by my granddad, and the Dirty Bomb was destroyed."

"Well…" Fiona paused. "It's really obvious that he is supplying the North Korean troops as well as commanding them for Song. So what are you gonna do?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." James replied, finishing his coffee. He stood up, stretching his back.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Fiona asked, staring at him above her computer.

"It's quiet, too quiet. I'm going to check on Mui."

* * *

James walked into the living room quietly where Jennifer was lying down on the couch. He saw that she was resting, wearing nothing on her torso but her bra. He ambled over to her just to see if she really was sleeping, and sure enough, she was. He looked down and saw a bottle of ibuprofen, with the lid off. He figured it had obviously kicked in and started to help with the pain. He looked down at her stomach. It was wrapped in a white bandage with a small amount of blood on it over the wound. He hoped she had been able to sufficiently patch herself up. He sat down on the coffee table, watching her sleep. "She looks so peaceful." James whispered to himself. "A sleeping beauty." He scooted forward and leaned down over her. She had such luscious lips and James felt himself enticed by them, leaning farther and farther down. Eventually he pressed his lips to hers. A second after he made contact with her, he felt a gun being pressed to the right side of his head. He opened his eyes in alarm and came face to face with an angry Jennifer Mui. "Oh shit…"


	7. Hot Under The Collar

CHAPTER 7:

James stared back at Jennifer, their eyes locked dead on once more in a staring contest. He was regretting what he had done. It was incredibly stupid and he knew he was in serious trouble now. He had kissed his partner. He really didn't know as to _why_ he did it in the first place. Well…he did know; he found her unbelievably attractive. She was the hottest woman he had ever met. He was trying his luck, with no hope, no good reason, and now she was royally pissed off at him. She already hated his guts, and now, he had pretty much guaranteed his own demise. Not only was she pissed off, she was holding a pistol to the side of his head, her finger treading the hairline trigger. James was sweating bullets, no pun intended. He felt as though he was going to die all because of his testosterone driven mind.

"What the bloody hell were you doing?" Jennifer hissed quietly at him.

"Uhhh..." James uttered. That was all he managed to get out while she was still eying him down, giving him a death glare.

"Well?" She asked him again, grabbing onto his shirt collar with her free hand, pulling it as tight as she could. "What were you DOING?" She yelled, giving him a shake.

"It…it was an accident, I swear!" James lied fearfully, cringing at the loudness of her voice. He prayed that his lie would be bought by the experienced mercenary. It wasn't, of course. As a matter of fact, that seemed to make her even angrier.

"Try again." Jen whispered, pulling his shirt collar tighter against his throat. James felt himself automatically gulp. The sweat was now rolling down his face. He decided that maybe if he didn't look like a scared boy, and acted like the tough guy, then maybe she'd let him go.

"It's not like you didn't need it." James replied in a smug voice. Jen narrowed her eyes at him. She cocked the M9 slowly, the noise of it echoing in his head. "That was a really unintelligent thing to say, and I…I…uh take it back." He was still sweating nervously. Her face remained like a stone statue, completely unreadable.

* * *

"Jennifer?" Fiona asked as she knocked on the door to the living room. James had been in there for a good ten minutes and it was still quiet. "Is everything alright in here?" She said as she stuck her head around the door. "WHAT the heck is going on in here?" Fiona stared at the awkward position the mercenaries were in; Jen was on the couch, half-naked, holding James by the collar, pressing a gun against his head. Fiona stood in silence and shock. "Okay…" Fiona walked over to them and stood across from the front of the leather couch. "I know you hate him, but you can't kill him." Jen looked at James with hate in her eyes.

"I'll deal with you later." Jen whispered. James gulped again. He didn't want to know how she'd _deal_ with him. Jen let go of him, pushing him out of her way as she got up. She pulled her shirt back on. Her wound still hurt, but it was now down to a bearable dull pain, thanks to the ibuprofen. James stepped back and followed her as she walked towards the door of the kitchen.

"Jen? What happened?" Fiona asked worriedly.

"Nothing." Jennifer grunted in reply. "What did you want?"

"Major Garrett called and said they have a lead on Von Schrader."

"Von who?"

"James, fill her in would you?"

"Will do. Let's go." James said. "We'll call you once we get to the A.N. HQ." Jen glared at him again, wondering who this Von Schrader guy was. James felt his back stiffen at her gaze. Jen then walked out of the house. Fiona finally turned to look at James, raising an eyebrow. He looked as though he had just seen a ghost.

* * *

"James?" Fiona asked waving a hand in front of his face, tapping him lightly on the cheek.

"I'm fine." James lied, feeling the side of his head where Jen's gun had been pointed. He was finally able to breathe after that incident.

"What did you do to her?"

"I…uh…can we not bring that up? Ok thanks." James muttered quickly. He continued walking out of the house. Fiona followed him to the front door. He said one more thing to Fiona as he left, "If Mui has her way I won't be here for much longer..." Fiona let out a small chuckle as he drove off with Jen.

"They so like each other…" She said to herself. She closed the door, watching the pair leave, and went back to her computer.

* * *

As Jennifer and James were driving back to the A.N. headquarters, he explained who Von Schrader was. And as much as she tried to pay attention to that, Jen kept thinking about the kiss that James had given her earlier. It was the first time that a man, a young man at that, had made her feel kind of tingly inside. It was as if she had butterflies in her stomach. She had never really had that much time to maintain a relationship, unless it was another mercenary and even then, it was either just for the sex, or it was extremely short lived. Then, a relatively shocking thought came across her mind, one that she hadn't thought about in a very, very long time.

_Am I…in…love?_


	8. Mixed Feelings

CHAPTER 8:

As Jennifer and James drove to the A.N. headquarters, it got extremely awkward. Jen was still pissed off that he had tried to kiss her, but at the same time, she couldn't help but think about it. She thought to just how…nice it felt, even though it was from a man she…hated. She did find him rather attractive and he was trying to be nice. Jen thought that maybe if she returned the favour, things could work out between them.

_No…that's…wrong and weird on so many levels…but…argh…

* * *

_

James felt like he was the dog who had been sent to the doghouse. He told her about Von Schrader and after that, he didn't want to say anything about the two of them, now that Fiona wasn't around to intervene, in case if Jennifer really decided to put a bullet in his head. He kept sneaking glances over at her. He was really attracted to her, but then he thought, _well what guy ISN'T?_ He had been really trying his luck, hoping that _maybe_ she'd like him back and they could try to have a relationship. It would work too; considering both of them were mercenaries and knew what kind of life they were in for together. But alas, the only response to his efforts from Jen was extremely negative. James sometimes wondered if it was really completely pointless.

* * *

Needless to say, this out of all the places in the world was not the best place for a romance, not in a hostile theatre of military conflict. They both knew that they had to keep their feelings for each other under control, at least until things cooled down. James found this really hard to do, considering she was _his _partner. Whether she liked him back or not, well…he would have to find that out for himself.

* * *

As they entered Major Garrett's office, a very quiet and sombre mood fell over the whole room. "Glad you two are here." Major Garrett said in a gruff voice. He was sitting at his desk, papers stacked in various piles. "Your support operative told me that you took a bullet. Good to see that it hasn't stopped you." Mui shook her head no. "We had a lead on where Von Schrader was hiding. But then we got word that there was a major breakout in a high-security prison that happened about five hours ago."

"Who broke out?" Jen asked, completely clueless. James braced himself, taking in a deep breath and sat back; he already knew who had broken out of that prison. They weren't here just to find out where Von Schrader was.

"Choi Song." She was quite surprised at this information. James on the other hand, was not. He had half-expected it to happen.

"Here's what's happening;" James began. "Song still has a presence in this theatre, enough of presence to influence outside help and to prove that he still is a big threat. That's where his buddy Von Schrader comes in. In exchange for helping him break out of his prison, Song gave Von Schrader command of troops and weapons to fight against us."

"We still don't have an idea where either of them is hiding. Chances are, both of them are hiding together in some shit hole. Until we have any idea as to where they are, we are not going to send either of you outside this HQ. Especially considering the history you have with them. Dismissed."

"Yes sir." The pair replied in unison. Jen was disappointed. She figured if she was on her own, she could have taken care of the enemy rather easily, and they would all be over and done with the conflict.

* * *

Hours had passed since the news that Song was on the loose again. Jen couldn't believe that Major Howard wouldn't just let her and James go get them, it was unlike him. Had this been the first time around, well, it would have been done already. Jen did not know what to do.

* * *

James had gone to his room. Jen wasn't around, so he decided to take a nap on the bed, considering he had nothing else to do. When he woke up half an hour later, he still hadn't heard or seen Jen around. He assumed she was probably at the gun range downstairs. James got up and went down there to look for her. He found her there, lying on the ground, practicing her sniping with her preferred Barrett rifle. Knowing that it would be a _very _bad idea to surprise her, especially after what he did to her earlier, he decided to calmly approach her lane. As soon as he took one slow step forward, she fired a shot off. The gun recoiled and she cursed out loud.

"Damn it!" Jennifer moaned, clenching onto her right shoulder.

"What's wrong?" James called out, jogging to her.

"I think that I've dislocated my shoulder…again." She groaned, gasping in pain. She had put down the enormous Barrett .50 Cal sniper-rifle she had been firing with. She got up, and leant against the wall with her back. She had dislocated that shoulder once before, when she first handled a rifle of that caliber. Now though, she was immensely surprised that the gun she had been so used to firing had dislocated it again. She figured that it was just a freaky coincidence that James happened to show up, just as it occurred. James however knew what he had to do. He reached forward and grabbed Jen by the hand. He looked directly into her eyes. She gave him an odd look as if to say, _what the bloody hell are you doing?_

"Alright, I'm going to pop your shoulder back into place." He told her calmly. Jen glared daggers at him. "Trust me ok? This is gonna hurt…"

"Okay?" Jen replied hesitantly. James nodded, and with a sharp tug of her arm, he popped her shoulder into place. Jen cried out in pain. She felt like she was about to pass out. Then, out of nowhere she felt herself being pulled into a hug. She felt a deep blush creep onto her face as she rested her head above his shoulder, her arms finding their place around his back. He felt...warm, and comfortable. She closed her eyes, holding back tears of pain. They remained in an embrace for a quiet, sensual moment.

"Jennifer?" James whispered into her ear. She snapped back to reality, and soon she realized what she was doing. She pushed him away, blushing so much she felt the heat burn up her face.

"Thanks." She muttered still red in the face like a fresh beet, holding onto her right arm with her left. She pushed past him, walking quickly to get out of the gun range, all the while thinking: _I __**am**__ in love...I can't but…oh screw it! Screw what the rules say!_


	9. A Missing Rose

CHAPTER 9:

James stood in the gun range, watching Jen storm off. He almost didn't know what had just happened. They had had a moment; a physical, close together moment. He sensed that that was the trigger that sent Jen off like a bullet. He was surprised at the fact that she didn't shove him off right away. James sensed that maybe, just maybe, she had feelings for him.

* * *

James was calmly walking through the halls of the A.N. headquarters looking for Jennifer. She had just run off after he helped her and he was worried that maybe she had left the premises. He looked everywhere inside, including their room. He still couldn't find her. So he took his search outside. He checked the garages, the tents and then finally, he decided to look in the hangars. As he rounded the corner into the main hangar, he saw a figure sitting there on a chair. It was partially dark in the hangar, the shapes of the planes and helicopters leaving huge shadows creeping over the floor. He saw from the shape of the figure that it was a woman. Obviously, it belonged to Jen. He slowly approached her, grabbing another chair and sat down next to her. "What's up?" He asked innocently. She looked up at him, and turned away, shaking her head. James stared off at the Apache Attack Helicopter parked in front of them. He had been in one of those a few times here and there. If she was going to say anything to him, he wouldn't dare interrupt her and so he stayed quiet. He suddenly felt his knee bump into hers and he quickly moved his leg over. He didn't want to make her feel forced or anything, but he knew they had some talking to do. Jen sighed, finally regaining her composure enough to speak.

"Nothing really. Why do you ask?" She replied softly.

"You ran off earlier, and I wondered what if there was something wrong…" James said kindly. "Are you alright?" He gently put his hand on her arm. She to his surprise didn't brush him away.

"Yeah…listen, I…about us…I…never mind, forget it." She stood up, letting James' arm fall back to his side. "If you don't mind, I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Oh well…uh…good night." He anxiously wanted to know what she was going to say, but he let it go. She smiled slightly at him as she walked away. James sat there for about twenty more minutes, alone with his thoughts in the silence of the hangar. He finally decided to go to bed as well. He fully knew why Jen was acting so flustered around him. He remembered back to the moments they had together: when they had first met, she fell on him. Then when he kissed her at Fiona's place, and when he popped her shoulder back into place. He wasn't completely sure, but he had a pretty good feeling that Jen shared the same feelings he felt about her.

* * *

Jennifer was sound asleep when James entered the room. He carefully walked to his area that he had made out as his bed and stripped out of his clothes to just his boxers. Jen opened her eyes after hearing him come in. She looked around in the dark until she saw him. She felt herself blush just slightly and felt lucky that it was nearly pitched black in the room except for the glow off of his watch. She smiled to herself. He was very well built. He had a perfect looking chest, with well muscled pectorals, and slight chest hair. His arms flexed as he moved his duffle bag out of the way, showing off their strength. He had that eight-pack that every man wanted. She continued staring at him, looking down at his waist. He had that V-shape of muscles at his hips. Jen bit down on her lip, still slightly red in the face. _What a body…_

_

* * *

_

James woke up early the next morning, and saw that Jennifer had already left. He got up and he happened to look over at the bed, and saw a note.

_Meet me outside._

_-Jennifer._

"Blunt and to the point. Just like her." He put on his army fatigues, and his bullet-proof vest, and then walked outside of the HQ. He saw Jen sitting in the driver's seat of a Humvee, looking at herself in the side mirror. She happened to look to her left and saw James walking over. She smiled slightly and motioned with her hand for him to get in. He got in the passenger's seat, and she drove away.

"What's up?" James asked, buckling in his seatbelt.

"We've bee sent out, looking for Von Schrader's highest aid. He's known as Schmidt, another German, close friend of Von Schrader." She informed him. "If we can find him and his aide around here, then Song is probably nearby."

"Smart hiding right in plain sight. High risks equal high rewards."

"Yeah." She replied, turning left onto another dirt road. "Wait, what the bloody hell is that?" She said, pointing to another A.N. Humvee with an injured soldier lying on the ground beside it. Jen drove up as close as she could to the soldier, and they got out to inspect it. As soon as they got to the downed vehicle, James got a really uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"Wait a minute…" James said as he looked around. He saw a few men watching them on a far away cliff, one of them through a scope of a sniper rifle. James' eyes widened as he realized what the whole thing was. "It's a trap!" James yelled, snapping his head to look at Jen. Before he could react, a blast from a rocket launcher knocked him back out of view, and his head collided with a conveniently placed rock. He felt himself slowly going in and out of consciousness, pain bellowing in his ears and he had one last thought before he blacked out.

_Jennifer._

_

* * *

_

James eventually came to and realized that he was back in the medical wing of the A.N. Headquarters. He calmly sat up dizzily, and saw one of the doctors looking over him. Another doctor went to the door.

"He's up!" The doctor called. After a few seconds Major Garrett came storming in. James could tell by the look on his face that it wasn't going to be good news.

"What's up, Major?" James said quietly, running his hands over his bandaged head.

"Glad to see that you are all right, Sergeant. We have some terrible news. It seems that Song and Von Schrader have taken some of our men, and Ms. Mui. Look, some of those men that were captured hold very, _very_ important information. We need those men back alive."

"I'll do it." James said eagerly, getting out of bed clumsily. "And I'll kill those two in the process."

"I'm usually against stuff like this, but bring them in or kill them. I don't care, but get those men and Ms. Mui back safely. Especially, Ms. Mui…" Garrett really didn't want to lose the famous mercenary in case he ever needed to hire her again.

"Yes, sir." James gave him a salute before he gathered his things and left the medical wing. He was more motivated now than ever to get Jen, now that he thought they could have a chance to be together. He prayed silently to himself that she would still be alive by the time he found her.


	10. Semper Fidelis

CHAPTER 10:

James sat in the seat of the A.N. aircraft that was slowly flying towards its destination. They were flying towards the new Song tower and the possible location of its prisoners. They figured dropping in soldiers was the best way to do it. James volunteered to be the first one to jump out. He was more concerned about Jennifer of course than the other men. His last image he had before blacking out was her being dragged away by some troops that belonged to Von Schrader and Song.

"James? James, are you there?" Fiona's voice said in his ear piece.

"Yeah?" James said sullenly. "What's up?"

"I checked out the area, and to my surprise, it is not really fortified. You should be able to breach and capture easily."

"Good. Keep me posted on any further information."

"Alright, and be careful. And another thing…"

"Yeah?"

"I know you've a got thing for Jen and I really hope you find her."

"So do I."

"I never thought all those years I've worked with her that she could have someone like you." Fiona replied.

"She's like a rose. Beautiful, but so friggen' dangerous with all those thorns."

" Well, by the looks of things, you might just have pruned off all those thorns."

"Maybe." He looked out of the window, and saw that they were approaching the area that was better known as the new Song tower.

"Twenty-five metres until the destination!" The pilot called out. "Get ready!"

"Everybody ready?" Someone else called out. _Ready to save the woman that I love,_James thought to himself.

"Good luck." Fiona said. James nodded.

"Thanks." He saw that they were slowly approaching their destination. He tensed at the thought of the conflict he was about to jump right into. _Time to do or die.

* * *

_

Jennifer slowly opened her eyes groggily. She was on her knees on a hard concrete floor. She was in a very dark room. Someone's figure was about six feet away from her. That someone was being beaten by a guard. She tried to speak, but no words escaped from her mouth as she was gagged tightly. She saw a very familiar body step in front of her. It turned on the light on the table behind her, lighting up its face. It was Choi Song.

"Greetings, Ms. Mui." Song said in a low voice. He came so close that they were literally inches from each other. Jen could smell his cologne drifting off of him like a mist. "I have had a very long time to think of how I was going to get my revenge on you."

"Leave her alone, you son of a bitch!" A man cried out. Song calmly closed his eyes, and excused himself. He walked to her right. Jennifer watched as Song pulled a gun out from his cloak and put it to the back of the guy's head. He pulled the trigger, coldly executing him. The man's body dropped to the floor with a thump. It seemed it was just her and Song in the room now.

"See what I am capable of? I was going to torture you but then I thought, _you're not worth it._" Song whispered eerily in her ear. He calmly walked in front of her, crouching down so they were on eye level. His almond-shaped eyes glared at hers, and he pointed the gun straight into her face, right between her eyes. She slowly closed them tightly, figuring this was they way that she was going to die. "Goodbye, Jennifer Mui."

* * *

_BANG…

* * *

_

Jen opened her eyes and to her surprise, she saw that Song was the one on the ground bleeding rather rapidly on his back. She looked up, and saw a man's silhouette holding a machine gun with a smoking barrel. He continued to ventilate Song until he was nothing more than a crumpled pile of bloody pulp. He stepped forward into the light. It was James Holt.

"I'm sorry about that, Mui." James said, uncovering her mouth, and untying her. "Call me Jen." She whispered as she got up and wrapped her arms around him, holding on as tightly as her shaky hands could. James held her, rubbing her back softly. She pulled away gradually. He then handed her his Desert Eagle. "Let's go. The rest of the crew already got the other prisoners, and they are tearing this place apart."

"All right…" Jen said shakily. She was still a little terrified at the fact she had almost been killed only moments ago. She loaded the gun, the noise echoing in the room. They ran out of the holding area, and up to the lower floors. They saw an exit in the far corner, and James decided to check it out.

"Stay here." James said quietly. As soon as James rounded the corner, there was a gunshot, and he fell to the ground, holding his side. He scrunched up his face in pain and shock. Jen felt like her stomach was creeping up into her throat. She felt like she wanted to throw up.

* * *

"How could it be that easy Holt?" Von Schrader said stepping out from within the shadows. He was tall, had a shaved head, with several scars covering his face. He stared down at the man at his feet. James was still holding onto his side in an attempt to stop his loss of blood. Jen crouched down and hid in the corner. She froze, hoping he wouldn't be able to see her. Von Schrader stood over James, pointing his Luger P08 pistol down at him. "Now it's time to avenge my grandfather!" He coked the gun. "Die, American Scum!" Von Schrader roared. Jen then raised her pistol, and fired. Von Schrader stood there for a moment. Jen felt it was like slow motion, watching the bullet penetrate him. His eyes went as wide as saucers and finally, he fell, killed by a bullet to the side of his head. Jen ran over to James, putting her two fingers on his neck, checking for his pulse. It was just barely there.

"James, hang on." She cried out. James felt the life slowly drifting out of him. He heard her voice, but could barely say anything back. Feeling that he was about to die, he figured now would be the best time as any to tell her.

"Jennifer, I...I...love you." James mumbled with a cough. He closed his eyes. He knew if he was going to die, he had had the satisfaction of saying it to someone, and truly meaning it.


	11. Bed Of Roses

CHAPTER 11:

_A Few Hours Later…_

Fiona and Jennifer were sitting in the waiting room of the A.N. medical wing. They were waiting for news on James' condition. He had taken two bullets to the ribs. Jen had thought that maybe they had gone through and pierced not only his lung, but his heart as well. She felt like she wanted to cry. After all, he didn't have to rescue her the way he did; he could have brought more of the crew with him. But he bravely (and stupidly) decided to get her alone. Now he was on the operating table, getting the two bullets removed. Von Schrader had in fact; shot him twice as he had two Lugers, one in each hand. Jen really had no hope that he'd survive the surgery. And she couldn't stop thinking of the last thing he said to her. '_Jennifer, I…I…love you'_.

* * *

A while later, a doctor approached them, still wearing his blood stained scrubs. Fiona stood up to talk to him, but Jen didn't want to even move. Fiona paused for a second to look at Jen, and got no response. She walked over and greeted the surgeon.

"I'm Dr. Owen Hunt. James is recovering. We managed to retrieve both bullets from his rib cage; one of which lodged in the bone, the other in his back, just narrowly missing his left lung. He's in the intensive care unit. He should be awake within the hour."

"Oh thank God."

"Is your friend all right?" Dr. Hunt asked, taking off his scrub cap, revealing a head of red hair. Fiona looked over her shoulder. Jen was still sitting there, almost lifelessly.

"She'll be fine, once she knows the good news. Thank you." Fiona shook his hand. Dr. Hunt turned round and went back through the swinging doors he came in from. Fiona sat down next to Jen.

* * *

Jennifer had deep feelings for James; she had come to terms with herself about it. She also felt that this war was somehow her fault; that Song had specifically wanted her dead. And with James having feelings for her, it had endangered his life. If she hadn't been so careless and gotten captured so easily then he might not have been shot trying to save her.

"Are you all right?" Fiona asked eventually, looking to her right at Jen's distant, unreadable face.

"No." She responded sadly. "This is my fault. He's dying because of me. He is _dead_ because of me."

"Jen… the bullets went in and out, they didn't hit any of his major organs. One was in his ribs, the other just in his back…"

"Really?" Jen looked up, fresh tears steaming down her cheeks.

"Really." Jen let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in her seat, covering her mouth with her hand, keeping her sobs silent.

"You know, James told me that you were like a rose." Fiona said, thinking back to the conversation she had with him before he jumped out of the plane. "You're beautiful, but you can be dangerous at the same time."

"What? He said that? How?"

"Are you armed?" Fiona asked.

"Yes, of course."

"His point exactly."

"What am I going to do?" Jen moaned, resting her head in her hands.

"Go to his room and wait for him to wake up, then talk to him." Fiona replied, laying a hand on her shoulder. Fiona got up and Jen followed her eagerly. Fiona led Jennifer down the hallway to the ICU area. She then peered in through one of the windows. Fiona pointed to the door to the room where James was. Jen looked over at Fiona with a half-smile, and opened the heavy door to his room, quietly letting herself in.

* * *

Jen softly entered the room. James was lying on the hospital bed, sound asleep. The beep of the heart monitor showed that he had a strong and steady heartbeat. He wasn't hooked up to anything else, which was kind of a surprise to Jen. He must be doing better than she thought. She decided at that point that it was time for her to give him a little pay back. She ambled over slowly to his side, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. She leaned down, ever so slowly to give him a kiss just like he had done to her. His lips were pursed together in slight smile. She closed her eyes just as they were about to touch. As soon as their lips met, she felt a hand on her back, pulling further into this kiss. Jennifer broke his grip and staggered backwards in surprise, eying him angrily, panting.

"You can't one-up me." James laughed deviously with a wink, opening his baby-blue eyes. Jen just stood there staring back at him, blushing, and in total shock that he had been fully awake. Without saying a word, she turned round and locked the door. She looked back at James as she pulled the window curtains shut with a look of mock anger on her face.

"You are going to pay for that." She whispered threateningly, going back to the bed. James was frightened. He knew that look; it was the one he had received when he kissed her the first time. This time, he knew that he had gone way too far.

"Jennifer Mui, I…I am so, so sorry." James pleaded. "Please, don't hurt me." He sounded like a pathetic, ridiculous, pitiful idiot and he knew it. But pleading was the only thing he could really do at this point.

* * *

"Ohhhhh, I am not going to _hurt_ you." Jennifer replied temptingly, taking off her jacket, then her shirt, throwing them down on a chair. James couldn't help but stare at her unclothed and moderately ample chest. She pulled the outside curtain around his bed shut, cutting them off from the outside. She slid off her boots, kicking them out of the way. She eased herself onto the bed, cuddling next to him. James was surprised to the point that he could barely form his words. She then unbuckled her belt and slid off her jeans also throwing them onto the chair.

"Jennifer Mui, what are you…are you doing what I _think _you're gonna do? 'Cause…well…Uhhh…"

"Shhhhhhh..." She whispered, putting her fingers to his lips, straddling him above his waist. She started pulling away his thin hospital gown, revealing his bandaged ribs. James looked her in the eyes, knowing full well what she was going to do. "We've got to be quiet; Fiona's waiting right outside."

* * *

_One Hour Later…_

"Let's go." Jennifer said loudly as she shook Fiona by the shoulders until she was awake. Fiona looked up at Jen sleepily and saw that she was sweating a little bit. Fiona found it quite weird as it was absolutely freezing in the medical wing. She stood up, giving Jen a curious look. Jen simply smiled back at her as they started walking away from the ICU area. Fiona let out a long yawn.

"Took you frigging long enough. What's up with James? Is he all right?"

"Well…He's exhausted." Jen responded with an enticing grin on her face. "He's not going to be getting up for a while…" Jennifer explained as they walked out of the medical wing. "Trust me on that one…"


End file.
